Southern puffer
(Sphoeroides nephelus)
General data
Scientific names:
Southern puffer
Habitat:
Saltwater
Climates:
Tropical, Subtropical
Western Atlantic: northeastern Florida and northern Gulf of Mexico in the USA and the Bahamas to Campeche in Mexico and Lesser Antilles.
Max length : 30 cm TL
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7.
Upper side brown with large dark grey to black spots and light (pale blue or green in fresh specimens) irregular-shaped reticulations. Lower side with an irregular row of dusky to black rounded spots. The axil spot the most intense in the series.
Sexually mature, ripe males sometimes covered with brilliant red or orange spots of about 1 mm in diameter (white in preserved specimen). No lappets on head or body.
